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Top Five Best FF14 Solo Classes

Updated: 10 Mar 2019 10:34 pm

Let's talk about some of Final Fantasy XIV classes for a little bit, shall we?

BY: Ryan W.

Final Fantasy XIV contains a myriad of different classes and occupations for players to explore. Some of them are complex and have a broad learning curve, while others are simple and more comfortable to grasp. Regardless of that fact, we thought it would be fun to create a list on the top five best classes to solo in the game. Classes that players can dive into and explore at their own pace.

Before we get started, I feel it’s prudent to explain that this list of mine will not be an all-encompassing guide on how to play these five classes. No, instead, this list is more of a general overview on what they are, what they can do, and why they are, in my opinion, the best classes to play if you want to tackle this game in a more solo manner.

I will be providing links to guides made by other players that can and will go into significant detail on the individual classes, giving those who are interested in these five jobs, a more round-about and more in-depth explanation of the many nuances each class-occupation possesses.

So, with all that said and out of the way, why don’t we get started with this list with our fifth choice, shall we?

5) The Paladin Class

What's a Paladin?

A Paladin in Final Fantasy XIV is a tank, a tank who can not only dish out the pain but can also survive and sustain themselves at the same time.

To become a Paladin, a player must reach level 30 as a Gladiator, which will teach you the fundamentals beforehand.

Being a Paladin is all about crowd control and positioning. If you can master these two fundamental aspects of the class, you’ll go far as a Paladin. Also knowing the boss/enemy patterns is highly needed when playing as a tank.

To help you with that, you have skills such as “Rampart,” which reduces the damage you take by 20%. “Low Blow,” which stuns a target for 5 seconds. “Anticipation,” which increases your parry rate by 30%. “Reprisal,” which lowers a target’s damage by 10% for five seconds, and “Awareness,” which nullifies the chance of suffering critical damage for 25 seconds.

These are some of the Role Actions you’ll unlock as you level up Gladiator/Paladin. On top of that, you’ll learn even more abilities that will protect and sustain you. And while that is great, you still will have to do some damage to keep that enemy’s hate on you, so let’s talk about attack rotations now, shall we?

Paladin’s main attack rotation consists of the following abilities “Fast Blade,” “Savage Blade,” and “Rage of Harlone.” All three of which you’ll unlock before reaching Paladin.

Oh, you’ll also want to get into the habit of using “Shield Lob” when you’re ready to start a fight. Afterward, I would then recommend using the skill “Flash.” Using that skill immediately after starting the engagement will keep the enemies attention on you.

Lastly, upon reaching level 30 and unlocking Paladin, you'll earn the skill "Shield Oath." This ability is one of the essential skills in a Paladin's arsenal. Shield Oath, when activated, will not only reduce the damage you take by 20%, you'll also generate that ever-so-needed hate when fighting enemies Best of all, there's no time limit for this ability! Isn't that swell?

On top of that, once you reach level 35, you'll unlock "Sword Oath." Sword Oath, unlike Shield Oath, is designed for you to do a lot more damage overall, but you won't be generating amenity as a trade-off. I recommend only using Sword Oath when you're by yourself or in an eight-man trial/Alliance Raid. If you're in a regular four-person dungeon, I suggest sticking with Shield Oath.

With that said, that's about all I have when it comes to being a Paladin. It’s your job to take on the enemies and keep their attention on you. But in return for all that, you get some neat abilities as you level up the class.

Linked below are two guides that will not only help you understand how tanking works in Final Fantasy 14, but will also explain what skills a Gladiator/Paladin has, along with what they do.

Final Thoughts and Opinions on Paladin

Being a Paladin can be difficult; it can be repetitive; it can even be a little boring since the rotation for the class doesn't change all that much as you progress through the questline. However, despite saying that, being a Paladin can be fun, if only because you're the only thing stopping that Primal from grinding your teammates under his heel. You have the power to protect them, so please, go into your next fight knowing that you're the tank, you're going to defend your team, and in return, they're going to protect you.

Helpful Guides/Additional Info

What's a White Mage?

A White Mage in Final Fantasy XIV is classified as a healer, a versatile healer that can easily outlive both her enemies and her allies if need be, so let’s talk about the class for a little bit, shall we?

Just like before, to become a White Mage, a player must reach level 30 as a Conjurer. Doing so will unlock the quest that gives them the ability to become a White Mage.

Now to break it down, being a White Mage is all about healing and being the support, this is especially true given the fact that you won’t learn a single new combat ability until you hit level 45, meaning you’re going to be using “Stone” and “Aero” a lot.

But, Once you do hit level 45, you’ll unlock a little spell called “Holy.” Holy is the “I want to get this encounter done with already” kind of spell. However, try not to go overboard with the Holy. Holy can be a great way to clear encounters quickly, but it can also be extremely annoying to your team who can potentially throw hate at you for spamming Holy. So, due caution is advised when using that ability.

Okay, so you don’t have many options when it comes to dishing out the pain. What can you do as a White Mage, then? Well, let me show you.

You have abilities such as “Cure,” “Medica,” “Repose,” “Cure 2,” “Regen,” “Medica 2,” “Benediction,” “Asylum,” and “Tetragrammaton,” to name just a few. So, yeah, being a White Mage might not allow you many options to be DPS, but the game is more than happy to compensate by giving you some pretty fun healing spells in return.

You also have abilities such as “Protect,” which increases your physical and magical defense for over thirty minutes. “Largesse,” which increases the potency of all healing abilities by 20% for ten seconds, and “Raise,” which lets you bring back fallen players from the dead.

This is the life of a White Mage, 80% healing and 20% damage, but that’s just the trade-off for having a class dedicated to healing.

Final Thoughts and Opinions on White Mage

I know I probably made the class sound boring, but I promise it's quite the opposite… especially since you decide who lives and who dies on your team, how exciting!

It's also nice to see that Square appreciates healers, as well; since they're the only ones who are rewarded with a free mount for reaching level 30.

So if you're trying to decide which healing class you should pick, I'd recommend the Conjurer/White Mage... mostly because it's the only support class, you'll have access too when first starting the game.

Like before, I’ll leave two links down below to learn more about being a White Mage for the game.

Helpful Guides/Additional Info

What's a Machinist?

The Machinist is a DPS-base utility class that probably has the highest skill curve to master on this short list of ours; it also happens to be the class that I main.

Now, unlike the previous two entries on our list, the Machinist has no beginning class. Upon unlocking the job, you’ll automatically start at level 30, instead of 1. This trend will repeat with the rest of the expansion classes.

Now, the Machinist class is easily one of the hardest classes to play effectively in Final Fantasy XIV. Because there's a hint of RNG-based luck associated with the job, however, just because there’s a bit of RNG to it doesn’t mean the class is broken or it’s impossible to play effectively, it just means you’ll have to play this particular class slightly different.

To explain what I mean by “RNG,” your attack rotation will be reliant on these three skills. These skills being “Split Shot,” “Slug Shot,” and “Clean Shot.” These are the three attacks you’ll be using quite often.

By using Split Shot first, there’s a 50% chance the potency of your next Slug Shot will be increased by 140. Immediately after using Slug Shot, there’s an equal 50% chance that your next Clean Shot will be raised to 140 as well, resulting in a bit of inconsistent damage at times in comparison to what other classes can achieve. However, there are ways to get around this RNG, including your "Hot Shot" skill, which increases your physical damage.

And trust me, you’ll want Hot Shot on all the time. Hot Shot buffs your physical damage by 10% for sixty seconds, so be sure to have Hot Shot attached to a comfortable key, you’re going to be spamming it alongside your regular rotation.

Now, while a friend of mine will say the class is all RNG, there are ways to guarantee these “critical hits.” That’s where the “Special Ammunition” comes into play.

When you begin playing the class, you unlock the skills “Reload,” and “Quick Reload.” These two skills will give you special aether-infused bullets that will guarantee these critical shots, especially with Reload since it’ll grant you enough bullets to do one whole rotation “RNG free.”

Now, I find playing the Machinist class enriching to play, and I’m sure you will too if given a chance.

The only drawback to being a Machinist is the fact that you don’t have the sustain of a tank or the capabilities of a healer, leaving you quite dead if a pack of enemies (or players in PVP) wants you gone.

Final Thoughts and Opinions on Machinist

With all that said, I think that covers the Machinist class for the most part. The class does have a high skill-ceiling to it, and it’s probably going to take a few hours before you start to understand and grasp the core aspect of being a Machinist.

However, once you start putting it together and understanding how the class works, you’ll find that it’s not only entertaining but also rewarding and exciting to play.

It just takes a bit of time to understand what this job is asking of you and what you have to do to be effective at it.

It also would be beneficial to spend some time killing low-leveled mobs to understand and adapt to the playstyle of a Machinist, especially to learn and grapple with the 50% mechanic for your attack rotation and how to overcome it.

Like before, links below to understand better the Machinist’s skills and how to best tackle the class.

Helpful Guides/Additional Info

What's a Ninja?

Answer me this, my friends. Have you ever wanted to get up close and personal with your enemies? To see the fear in their eyes as you slice them down before you? Well, you can't, (at least not legally,) but your character will as they begin their training in our next class. So grab that extra stabber, put on some soothing Japanese-oriental music and relax as we talk about the DPS-base class known as the "Ninja." How exciting, my friends! Let's begin!

To become a Ninja, players must go and unlock the Rogue's Guild, which, like the rest of Realm Reborn classes, will teach you the fundamentals of the class for the first 30 levels. Afterwards, you can then proceed forward by unlocking the Ninja profession and continue the storyline, yay!

Now, unlike the Machinist class, being a Ninja is far more streamlined and easier to understand, especially when it comes to the attack rotation of the class.

The rotation consists of the following attacks: “Spinning Edge,” “Gust Slash,” and “Aeolian Edge.”

You might want to toss in the occasional “Shadow Fang” or “Armor Crush” after using Gust Slash, but for the most part, you’ll be spamming those first three attacks.

On top of that, once you unlock the profession, you’ll also gain access to “Ninjutsu.” Ninjutsu can be one of six different spells a Ninja can employ to either buff themselves up, or deliver quick and decisive attacks onto their enemies, depending on specific circumstances.

These skills are: “Fuma Shuriken,” “Katon,” “Raiton,” “Hyoton,” “Doton,” and “Suiton.” Quite a lot of options, right? Well, sadly you won’t be able to use all of them right away.

“Why?” You might ask. Well, that's because you need to unlock Mudra first. “What’s Mudra?” You then might inquire. Mudra is one of three specific hand gestures Ninja’s must perform in certain combinations to access these spells. You’ll learn the other two hand gestures as you progress through the Ninja’s questline.

Once you do unlock all three hand gestures, you’ll have access to all six of the previously listed abilities. It can be overwhelming to remember what hand signs do what, but after a while, you’ll understand which combo is needed to access each spell, it just takes a little bit of practice and understanding.

With all that said, that’s about it when it comes to being a Ninja up until the end-game. Playing as a Ninja is all about remembering what gesture is needed for each encounter. For example, if you’re up against a single foe, Raiton will be far more effective then Katon.

Final Thoughts and Opinions on Ninja

The Rogue/Ninja profession has one of the smoothest difficult curves in the entire game; that's why I chose to include the class over another. You start with the Rogue’s Guild, learning the fundamentals of the class before moving on to Ninja. This balance between accessibility and difficulty is wonderfully achieved with the class. The Rogue class teaches you what you need to know and how to play the job before letting you at the Ninja profession and its gimmicks.

On the one side, this does make the Rogue’s Guide a bit of a slog to get through, but on the other end, it’s essential to learn how to play as the class before diving head-first into the Ninjustu and Mudra business as it can be overwhelming once you unlock all three hand gestures.

Helpful Guides/Additional Info

What's a Bard?

The Bard is a staple of the Final Fantasy franchise, appearing in multiple games as the melody-singing, harp-strumming, DPS-support hybrid.

Just like everyone else, to unlock the Bard class, you must complete the Archery Guide questline that precedes it, which then opens the job’s corresponding Soul Badge.

Since a player can become an Archer at the beginning of the game, the class has a beautiful sense of scaling when it comes to its difficulty.

The Bard’s attack rotation will consist of “Heavy Shot,” “Straight Shot,” “Venomous Bite,” and “Windbite.” Later on, Venomous Bite and Windbite will gain upgrades to match the scale of power you have achieved by that point in the class.

Like the Ninja class, once you reach level 30, you'll gain access to the Bard's main gimmick. However, you won’t be summoning lightning from the heavens or snapping your fingers and incinerating your foes like in Rapture. No, instead, you’ll be doing something even better than that...singing! Wait! Don't click off the article! Let me explain.

As you progress through the storyline of the Bard, you’ll gain access to the Songs of the Bard, three of them to be exact. These songs, while activated, will buff the critical rate of your allies by 2%... yeah it’s not much of a buff, but there is more than just that.

While under the effect of a song, you’ll gain “Repertoire.” The impacts of Repertoire is different depending on the song you have active and whether or not you’ve used “Caustic Bite” or “Stormbite.” These two being the upgraded versions of your Venomous Bite and Stormbite.

For example, if you use the Mage’s Ballad and then proceed to get critical damage with Caustic Bite, you’ll reset the timers on both “Bloodletter” and “Rain of Death.” You’ll then be in the position to possibly spam these two different abilities again and again for 30 seconds.

Following that same train of thought, if you gain Repertoire while using the song “Army’s Paeon,” all of your timers will be reduced by 4%. You can then stack this buff even further to a total of 16% for 30 seconds.

When it comes to playing the Bard, you will be spamming these songs quite often. So please, do not hesitate when it comes to deciding whether or not you should use those songs of yours, they are there for a reason, so go nuts and discover for yourself how you would like to use these abilities of yours.

Final Thoughts and Opinions on Bard

With all that said, I do believe that covers the Bard. Playing the Bard can be a wonderful experience. It’s a pure, yet, mechanically deep class full of experimentation and possibility. Plus the Level 50 Barding set is just adorable on female characters. (The outfit my character is wearing is not the barding set, it's the Songbird set.)

If you’ve just started playing the game, or you’re thinking about taking the plunge and buying the game and subscription, perhaps the archery profession will be the perfect fit for you.

Like before, links below for all your barding needs.

Helpful Guides/Additional Info

So, Which Class Should I Pick?

Well, at the end of the day, it's up to you to decide what you want to play and how you want to go about it. Whether it’s by yourself, with your friends, or with some strangers, you met in one of the game’s dungeons. Whatever you decide to do, go for it and have fun; this is your character, play however you want.

Whatever you choose to do in Final Fantasy XIV, I hope it leads to you having fun. FFXIV has a beautiful community that happily welcomes new and returning players alike. So whether you’re new to the series, or a returning veteran with hundreds of hours played, I hope you enjoy your time in Eorzea

This short list of ours was made with the intention of giving information and context on five classes that I believe are the easiest to play by yourself and level up, while providing some advice here-and-there for the occasional dungeon or Trial.

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